STANDARD BY 64 ----------- WASTE OF THE WEB ISSUE ----------- FEBRUARY 1996

THE SEMI-OFFICIAL FEDERATION HISTORY
by Jennifer Adams (IT'S IT!! #46/47, JUL/AUG 1988)
1983
June: pre-production for "The Five Faces of Doctor Booh":
Chris and Rob go to UNIT Irregular branch
meetings to recruit for the production.
July 29: Read-through of the script with most cast members
at Liberator Base (aka The Basement of Doom
aka Chris' basement)
July 31: filming of "The Five Faces of Doctor Booh" at Adler
Park, Libertyville. It took all day.
August: The Night of Long Knives. UNIT Irregulars
help out on security at U.S. 20, a DOCTOR WHO
con sponsored by Mrawr Larry UNIT has party for
Nicholas Courtney; Ian Marter also attends as the
group that sponsored HIS trip to the con was ignoring
him. September: Chris gets kicked out of UNIT;
other Doctors leave as well due to crappy way the
club president (Adam) had been treating them.
October: reshoot scenes of "Doctor Booh" to eliminate
Adam's part.
November: 20th Anniversary Party at Liberator Base:
wear costume, bring guests. (Only Jennifer and
Sondra do the latter). Five Docs win Ultimate Celebration
costume contest. Video library formed
December: First Christmas party.
HOW MARK CHRISTENSEN GOT INVOLVED
by Mark Christensen
I first heard of DOCTOR WHO in early summer1981. My
dad picked up a couple of Pinnacle books
(GENESIS OF THE DALEKS and THE LOCH NESS MONSTER)
at a rummage sale. I read and enjoyed
them. Later that summer in August, I was flipping
through the TV GUlDE and saw that DOCTOR WHO
was on channel 11 at 11 pm Sundays. I decided
to check it out, because I thought the books were good and
I enjoy almost all media science fiction. The
first one I saw was "Sunmakers." I was wondering
where is
Sarah Jane and Harry and who is Leela and K9. A
few weeks later the Key To Time episodes were run
for the first time; I enjoyed them immensely and
I was hooked.
For about a year and a half everyone I would
mention it to had never heard of DOCTOR WHO. In
December, 1982 I saw a flyer for an organised
DOCTOR WHO club at the University of Wisconsin--
Parkside (I eventually got a B.S. there). In
January we found out about Peter Davison and Sandra
Dickinson's visit to the New Fantasy Shop the
following month. A group of us went. Will LaDuke picked
up flyers on all the local Chicago clubs and
wrote them for more information. Practically the only response
was from the UNIT Irregulars. Will went to a
couple meetings over the next two months. In May, 1983 I
went along with him to a meeting at Chris'
house and joined UNIT. They talked about making a movie and
I thought that would be fun and signed up, That
July I played Hartnell in the movie-- and the rest is
Federation history.
When Tommy came for a Creation Con in July, 1983,
HAPPENINGS (the local free TV listing magazine)
got a telephone interview with him. They knew nothing
about him or DOCTOR WHO, so they contacted
Parkside's club. I said let me do the interview and
then give you the article. Will and I came up with
some questions; I called and interviewed him. The next
day I went to the con and my mother videotaped his talk
session. Will used both to write the article. This
is my first DOCTOR WHO con experience.
1984
January 1: Official first day of the Federation
February: Chris, Rob, Mark, and Sue go to Omnicon
to see Colin and Nicola. quotes from the first
Federation newsletter, February:
"The Federation is a newly-formed DOCTOR WHO
and British media fan club. We have no president--
the members are supposed to fill the responsibility,
and how they accomplish this will determine how
successful we are..."
"John Nathan-Turner has announced that the 22nd
season will, indeed, be his last."
The Federation was born not just to share DOCTOR
WHO and BLAKE'S 7 fandom, but also to prove a
point: that we could be a better kind of fan
club, one that served the members and the program, and not
individuals.
March: Pat Engle wins the WMVS (Milwaukee) DOCTOR
WHO look-alike contest.
May 27: "All Doctors Great and Small" filmed. It
took 15 hours. It was not a pleasant experience.
June 15-17: The Federation goes to Panopticon West
in Columbus, OH. "Five Docs Booh" screened. Six
Doctors lose costume contest but wins fans over.
(oh, yeah, Jennifer won in the "Most Beautiful"
category for the Nyssa/ Black Orchid outfit.) "Creeping
Terror eats JNT" wins Monster contest. Vow revenge to
defeat Laura "Stale Crumpet" Kyro. Rod of Rassilon.
July 23-28: "Flake's 7" shooting, and the Night of
Death I (first meeting of executive producer).
August 10-12: SCORPIO II: we win another costume contest.
By August five goals were set out, named "The Quest":
1. For a PAL (video) machine so that we may give season 22 away to fans
everywhere free. and end black market profiteers....
2. To make a parody for every con we attend....
3. For more crumpet (females-- ed.) in club....
4. Through the video library, to give every fan a chance to see every episode
of DOCTOR WHO and to end selfish squandering of rare episodes....
5. To spread fandom for DOCTOR WHO, BLAKE'S 7...(etc.) EVERYWHERE!
Sept. 2-3: "Never Say U.N.C.L.E. Again (Affair)" shooting
Sept.22: SPYCON II: "Never Say U.N.C.L.E." Screening
Sept. 29: Night of Death II, aka Fake Drunks.
Basically an attempt to alienate two members no longer felt
by the vast majority of the rest to fit in.
(Cruel to be kind?)
Oct. 20: The first annual Doctors vs. Companions
softball game. Doctors won with a leaping, crashing catch
by the first incarnation
Nov. 3: "Doctors on 33" Shooting. We listed 6
Outer Worlds members.
quote from THE LIBERATOR issue (Standard by) 5:
"Looking ahead soon we will be one year old. We
started as an idealistic group, looking for a change,
paranoid about how. We're still together (most
of us, anyway) and still, not one person can be
identified as Czar of THIS club. (We called Adam
"The Czar" -- ed.) Even if I DID have a few too
many close-ups in the last movie. We have made
episodes of DOCTOR WHO available to everyone (and
still trying)...and we have made a total of 5
movies this year! We have won 11 awards. Our
movies have been shown at every convention in
1984. Are we a success? If a club is only as
successful as its members, then I would have to
say yes. And whenever I got the feeling to quit,
that it was all too rough, one thing always stuck
in my mind. And I think it appropriate to quote
as we near our first birthday...."FROM STRENGTH
TO UNITY." (this was all taken back the following
January when Chris yelled in a fit of pique, "You
can take 'From Strength to Unity' and shove it up
your ass!" --ed.)
Nov. 22-24: TARDIS 21, Night of (John Wirth's)
Death III, Six Docs Lumberjack win costume contest.
a quote from THE LIBERATOR, standard by 7-8:
"What's in store for '85? A PAL machine, New
Orleans, and the ULTIMATE parody...It's going to
be a long, but good, year. Did we really know what
we were getting into that fateful day in July 1983
when we shot our first movie? I think it's finally
time to put our past behind us, forget Adam and
UNIT, and push forward...THE QUEST IS THE QUEST...
1) to get more crumpet into the club! Really,
every time we shoot a DW parody, Jennifer has
to play every female companion! (How little things
change! -- ed.) 2) to get PAL equipment. 3) to
supply fans with rare and new DOCTOR WHO and
eliminate costly and selfish black-marketeers
4) to make the ULTIMATE DOCTOR WHO parody!"
DO DO DO DO DO
by Rob Warnock
Being in the Federation for five years has,
I think, made me go insane. Either that or I
already was and I've just been getting worse
over the past five years. I think my gradual
loss of touch with reality began on July 31,
1983. That was the day we shot "The Five Doctors
Booh." Would anyone in their right mind spend
an entire day running around with a bunch of
people in stupid costumes while innocent people
gaped, trying to figure out what was happening?
And, of course, it was hot. As a rule, it's either
100 degrees F or 20 degrees F whenever we shoot
something. That day it was 100 degrees F.
Okay, so maybe that doesn't sound so bad, but
from that point on it was all downhill. There's
all kind of evidence existing on videotape of my--
or should I say OUR -- gradual descent into insanity.
There was now the legendary fifteen-hour shooting
of "All Doctors Great and Small." It rained the
entire day. I remember because Pat Reardon and
I had to run up and down a mud-covered hill 12,653
times. I also remember being threatened by a
Brown Recluse Spider if I didn;t give Pat "Benton
from 'Nam" Engle 50c for a Coke. Needless to say,
I gave it to him. I don't get on well with spiders,
to say the least. Then there was that cat...
I could go on for days about video productions
alone. I could talk about freezing outside on
two projects when it was 20 degrees F...the
disastrous "Hitchhiker's Guide to Gallifrey"
or "Time Lord from U.N.C.L.E.", when it was so
cold even the camera battery refused to work.
Then there is one of my all-time favorites,
putting on a green dress and screaming in a forest
preserve. Well, it could be worse, I could be
playing Mel...
Another thing I could use to prove my insanity
is conventions. I've been to so many in the past
five years that I can't even remember them all.
There was the "Ultimate Celebration" in 1983
where we were all herded around like cattle for
two days. We won the costume contest, but I
can't for the life of me remember what we did
to win. Next year brought TARDIS 21. We were
lumberjacks but we weren't okay. Being the gluttons
for punishment we are, we attended TARDIS 22.
Again, we won the costume contest because Jennifer
had...well, I'll let her tell that one.
In between (days) there were other cons like
Omnicon where Mark, Chris, Sue and I were among
the first people in the world to see Colin in
costume. There was Tardiscon in St. Louis, and
Time Festival in Columbus where the Creeping
Terror was born along with the term "stale crumpet",
used to describe Laura Kyro. And last but not least,
who could forget Farcis 23 and Farciscon? Instead of
making fools of ourselves in front of hundreds of
people for a few minutes, we made even bigger fools
of ourselves in front of tens of people for a few
hours.
You're still not convinced, though, are you?
Well, then let me tell you about the parties.
The first annual Federation New Years Eve Party
was held on December 31, 1983. We all got mildly
drunk. Over the next two years the amount of
alcohol we drank increased exponentially. The next
year we got even more drunk and filmed "Doctor
Nudge" which NO ONE (apart from about 10 people)
will ever see. 1985 was definitely the worst. I
mean, what could be worse than a two-day hangover?
How 'bout a tequila/champagne induced two-day
hangover? Or what about a two-day, tequila-induced
hangover on top of a hangover that you still haven't
recovered from since your sister's wedding three
days ago. Or worse yet, a two-day tequila-champagne-induced
hangover on top of another two-day hangover...WHILE
YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S VISITING!!?!
The only thing that comes close to that is the
"Flake's" party where we found out that John Wirth
was only 14...after he had ingested a pint of Jack
Daniels. This was also the time that I was so drunk
that I though Chris' neighbor yelling at me was
Dennis. And then there was Chris and Pat riding on
the boat. The only problem was that the boat was still
parked in the driveway!
Yes, I think in the past five years I've done more
stupid, pointless, and inane things than most people
do in their entire lives. I must be insane. Why else
would I have stuck around this long? I guess it's
because I've only ever been in the Federation for the
fun of it. Well, guys, it's been real and it's been
fun and it's been real fun...well, a couple of times, anyway.
1985
February: PAL machine arrives. "Flake's 7" wins
CABAC video award. Infamous "llama" issue of
newsletter. JNT and Colin see "All Doctors" at Time Travellers Con.
March: DOCTOR WHO is cancelled by BBC. "Hitchhiker's
Guide to Gallifrey" unfortunately not cancelled.
April: First video failure (see above) causes panic
and cancellation of second "Flake's" movie to develop the ultimate parody.
June 14-21: "S-A-V-E-W-H-O" shooting
July 12-14: Panopticon New Orleans, another costume
contest win (the Odd Doctors beat out Stale Crumpet).
The Federation (well, Chris -- ed.) obtains all vintage DOCTOR WHO on PAL.
September: Lionhart releases Hartnell-Troughton package.
November 13: Chris (and the Federation?) is accused
by Lionhart of selling DOCTOR WHO videotapes. It is
denied and a copy of "S-A-V-E-W-H-O" is sent, but the video library closes.
November 29-Dec.1: TARDIS 22. "S-A-V-E-W-H-O" is screened
on several floors. Six Docs w/Waxworks Tom Baker, Peri
and A Cyberman win costume contest. The run-in with Eric Hoffman.
quote from THE LIBERATOR, standard by 12-13:
"Quests for 1986: 1. Get more crumpet into the club.
2. Take a club trip to England. 3. Make a video for
broadcast TV. 4. Visualise the never-finished "Shada"
on videotape. 5. No pooftahs."
December: "A Doctor's Carol" is shot.
1986
January: The Federation changes its name to
"EkiEkiEkifatangzoomboingunzowingzah" and the newsletter to
IT'S. A feeling of reform envelops the club. A Video
Exchange and the VIDEO'ZINE are established. BLAKE'S 7 begins on WTTW.
March 22: "Cabaret!" is shot.
June 22: Night of Death IV; Jeff attacks mailbox.
First mention of the musical that just wouldn't die,
"Who Glorious Who". Return to using the name "The Federation".
June 28: "Holy Grail" shooting. Considered the second
failure, it inspired new production values for the future.
August 1-3: TARDISCON, St. Louis. On location shoot
for "Who Glorious Who" unsuccessful. "Peter and the
Doctor Factory" loses skit contest, but Doctors In
Drag win costume contest. Apathy and dissatisfaction
with fandom and DOCTOR WHO abundant. "Who Glorious Who"
cancelled. Last official sighting of Steve Schiller.
August: Chris resigns (the first time) as head of the
Federation and newsletter editor. Jennifer takes over
newsletter, changes name to IT'S IT!! The video exchange
is closed. Dues charged to Outer Worlds members.
October: Filming for "Time Lord from U.N.C.L.E." begins.
November: "U.N.C.L.E." filming ends. Farcis 23, the
first Federation parody con, is held. Second attempt
at "Who Glorious Who" is cancelled so that "Flake's 7 II"
could be finished (it was filmed in July and August).
STEVE W. HILL RECALLS
by Steve Hill
It was only two years ago when I got involved with the
Federation, in St. Louis at Tardiscon '86. I had been
looking for things to do late on Friday night and when
I checked the video room I saw something that I had
never heard of: "S-A-V-E-W-H-O". It sounded interesting,
so I stayed to watch. I loved it. After only about twenty
minutes I could tell the people who made it were in the
back of the room (don't ask me how I could tell, it was
just something I was sure of). When it was over I had
already determined that the Federation was a club that
was based in my area, after seeing things like "Thanks
to Libertyville High School" and the newspaper in "OK9
and Company" being my own local paper. I decided I
wanted to talk to these people.
The next day I ENCOUNTERed (there's no better word to
use here) them in the dealers' room. If I remember
correctly I was asking if they needed help writing, or
if they needed extras, or ANYTHING. They were surprised
when I said I was from Palatine, and they took my address.
That night I watched "S-A-V-E-W-H-O" again and wondered
what my chances would be of getting into this club which,
to me, seemed to be a highly exclusive clique.
The next day a friend of mine bought the last remaining
copy of VIDEO'ZINE 3 (thanks to it being in the Beta
format, they still had a copy left) and we went up and
watched "Doctor Who and the Holy Grail" and "Flake's 7"
before going to seek the Federation again.
The next ENCOUNTER was a few weeks later at Scorpio IV.
Chris and Mark needed some food, and I had a car, so
they latched on to me to go to lunch. That ENCOUNTER didn't
last too long because I didn't pay to get into Scorpio,
therefore I couldn't do much. There was only another week
or two before my first meeting, and I'm sure I surprised
everyone there by STAYING THROUGH THE WHOLE MEETING and
actually PLAYING TRIVIAL PURSUIT with them into the wee
hours after all the other "new members" had gone home. I
had a headache after that meeting.
In the next couple of meetings, we seemed to be busy.
Chris was resigning and pushing his work off onto other
people. I took advertising along with Scott Wilson (the
real Scott Wilson); we were planning for TARDIS 23 and
putting on Richard Franklin's play (which were cancelled
altogether, if you recall); and we were preparing to
shoot a new project, "The Time Lord from U.N.C.L.E." I
was involved before I knew it, and before the end of the
year I was already putting on a (fuzzy) Colin coat and
playing him at our first parody convention.
These days I am (trying to) answer mail, (trying to)
keep VIDEO'ZINE orders filled, (trying to) contribute
monthly to the newsletter, (trying to) play several
parts in THE REIGN OF TURNER, and still trying to put
in (I know, it's only part time) 30 hours a week at
work. I've never been as busy a person as I am now
that I got involved in the Federation, but 1) it's a
fun club most of the time, 2) I'm enjoying being involved
in fandom, and 3) the Federation is nothing like my
first impression, i.e. an exclusive clique. It's the
easiest thing in the world to become involved in this
club. Even Outer Worlds members we know by name...nobody
is a number to us.
Another impression that I had of this club before I
joined was that it involved a huge amount of people.
I envisioned thiry or more people at meetings, with me
stuck in the back of the room trying not to be seen. I've
been to meetings that have involved five people, and the
real, participatory Inner Worlds membership is something
like 10 in all. Evern since September, 1986 when Chris
resigned and Pat Reardon left for Alabama, the club has
been dwindling. But we enjoy doing what we do, and we just
want to keep doing it, no matter how hard it is.